Taming the Beast
by hellsespada1
Summary: Ichigo must learn to work with and control his hollow before it's too late to save his friends.  Not the best summary, but I promise it's worth reading. There is romance, but not till the last chapter.
1. Results from the 1st Part of Battle

**A/N: And so begins the story that I've been promising since I signed up. It's taken far too long, but now I'm getting it posted and the timing couldn't be better. I mention in advance though that it may be somewhat lackluster compared to my other works because it's actually a much older piece. It also doesn't perfectly follow the anime's story line because I didn't know how everything turned out at the time. With that said keep an open mind and enjoy.**

**December 20, 5 days till Christmas**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any other anime.

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**Taming the Beast**

**Results from the 1****st**** Part of Battle**

"_So this is how it all ends."_ Ichigo thought.

Three Adjuchas had him pinned to the ground with Tensa Zangetsu stuck in the sand a good 30 feet away. The Vasto Lorde leading the ambush was hovering in the air somewhere to his right, a wailing laugh escaping past his jagged hollow mask as he looked on in amusement at the pathetic scene before him. All of Ichigo's allies were strewn about, knocked unconscious and slowly bleeding from deep wounds.

"_How could this have happened!"_ he angrily thought to himself, struggling against the hollows' might, but to no avail. He was too weak from the gash in his side and his efforts only increased the flow of blood, so with a groan he gave up. Ichigo looked out at his friends, and he too saw the disaster that had transpired.

Orihime lay unconscious on the sand, blooding dripping onto her hakama from Uryuu's right shoulder as his arm was draped over her protectively. He had passed out due to loss of blood from the blow he took for her.

"_How did this happen?"_ He asked again as his eyes fell on Chad.

Chad was face down in the sand, blood erupting from his ivory arm where a silvery fang protruded forth.

"_What went wrong?"_ He wondered.

Ichigo then saw Renji lying on the ground, his breathing ragged. He clenched tightly in his fist a bone hilt. His hand and leg were bleeding while scattered fragments of Hihio Zabimaru lay around his limp body.

"_Why haven't they finished me off?" _Ichigo asked.

He found Nel huddled behind a rock in fear, reverted to her child form once again from over exerting her power.

"Where is Ru…?" This last question died on his lips as he beheld Rukia in the grasp of a colossal Adjuchas.

Ichigo could only gape as he looked up. There she was in the gigantic fist of a hollow, having the life squeezed out of her. Ichigo figured it out then. The Vasto Lorde was torturing, not only himself, but Rukia too before they were both killed.

"_Only that bastard Aizen would do something like this!"_ He thought, as a snarl built in his throat.

Ichigo composed his remaining strength and lashed out.

"Rrrraaaaaaggghhhhh! He screamed and Rukia whipped her head around to look at him.

He succeeded in throwing one hollow off him and was lunging at another when he received a sharp kick in the gut at the exact spot of the wound where his bankai shihakusho had been sliced through.

Ichigo doubled over in pain and fell to the ground. He somehow managed to look up in time to see the Vasto Lord kick the blood off his shoe and calmly snap his claw-like fingers.

"I...I…chi…goOOOO!" she yelled in pain as the hollow tightened his grip and Ichigo watched her collapse.

"RUKIAAAAAAA!" he screamed again, feeling completely powerless to help her.

The Vasto Lorde practically smiled as he snapped his fingers again. The hollow opened its enormous maw exposing the secondary mouth that's designed for eating souls. As it grew closer and closer towards her all Ichigo could was watch as she was about to be devoured.

The one person he felt knew himself better than even he did. The one girl his own life to save time and time again. The one girl he would always care for, was about to be killed in front of his very eyes as he was finally powerless to save her.

As the mouth drew ever closer towards her one final question formed on his tongue:

"Why does she have to die?"

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**A/N: So the countdown begins. But what exactly are we counting down to? Check out my page to find out. See you tomorrow.**


	2. It was supposed to be Easy

**A/N: Chapter 2 is actually going backwards.**

**December 21, 4 days till Christmas**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

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**It was supposed to be Easy**

-2 Hours Earlier-

"What the hell was that?" Renji proclaimed as he spat out the last drops of scarlet blood.

He stabbed his sword; through the final struggling hollow guard that tree freak had spawned, into the ground. Weary from the hard battle he leaned on it for support.

Rukia sat in silence thinking to herself_. "It must have been Ichigo's hollow."_ She reasoned.

00000

The battles with Ulquiorra and Yammy were over, both having concluded in a surprising way. Ichigo had watched Uliquiorra fade away and die while he still didn't know what had transpired. He figured it was his hollow, but he had never seen him inflict so much damage.

"What did he do…?" He had said, looking over at his injured friend Uryuu and then at the distraught look on Orihime's features. "What did I do?" he finished.

Their battle with Yammy hadn't gone so well either, details are unnecessary, they were losing and they knew it. After his cero sent them flying from the shockwave Chad, Rukia, and Renji lay spawled on the ground. He could have finished them right there, but he didn't.

"Aizen-sama has need of my assistance, I have no time for trash like you." He said honoring his now deceased friend.

With that he tore open a piece of the air and stepped into a garganta, smirking as he left to aid in the war on the shinigami.

00000

"I don't know." Rukia said, finally breaking the silence that had formed between the three of them.

"Tch" Renji scoffed, making Rukia look up at him in surprise.

"Don't give me that," he spat back, "you're the one who pretends to be an expert on Ichigo." He finished with a glare.

This last remark had even been enough to earn Chad's attention. He glanced up from his position leaning against the walls of Las Noches and decided this was a conversation best avoided.

"I …" Rukia stammered at a slight loss for words. "I don't pretend to be an expert on him!" she flared.

"You're right." He countered evenly, again surprising her. "You ARE an expert on Ichigo." Renji stressed.

Needless to say, an awkward silence dropped over them. It was soon broken however, when they realized that the rest of their group was descending from the dome on a platform of reishi that Uryuu had created. As they drew closer to the ground it became apparent to the other three that Ichigo's party wasn't in the best condition either.

Orihime had a worried look on her face and was helping to prop up Uryuu who had blood stains all over his shirt. Ichigo himself had his head down-cast; his eyes were hidden behind his hair line. When they finally reached the ground Uryuu lay down so that Orihime could finish healing the gouge through his chest. Ichigo sat down to rest on a fragment of the wall and he saw Rukia come over to tend to his minor scrapes and bruises.

She was shocked by how he had managed to avoid getting cut up to badly.

"What happened to Uryuu?" Rukia asked him.

"I don't know." He said, lying slightly as he had clearly seen Zangetsu stabbed through him.

"How did you manage to beat the fourth espada with only a scratch?" She tried again.

"I don't know." Ichigo replied once more, truthfully this time. He couldn't remember anything after Ulquiorra held him, nearly dead, in his bat-like grip.

Rukia wasn't satisfied with his answers. "But, you fought him," She began. "How can you not…"

"Rukia." He said in a voice so cool and devoid of emotion that it made her stop. That was the first time she had ever shuddered to hear him say her name.

"I won and Ulquiorra is dead," he paused. "That's all that matters."

With that he got up and went to see how Uryuu was doing. Rukia didn't try to question him any further. If Ichigo didn't want to talk about it she would wait until he did.

Half an hour later everyone was in better condition and even Uryuu was back on his feet and ready to move, without the slightest scar thanks to Orihime's Vio Late.

"So," Chad spoke for the first time getting everyone's attention, "How do we get out of this place?" He said, asking the question on all of their minds.

"Nel said that if we met her out in the Hueco Mundo desert she could open a garganta for us to return to Karakura Town." Rukia piped in.

"Right then," Ichigo replied, getting up and strapping Zangetsu to his back. "That's where we're heading, we have to go and help the others."

"No problem, all we have to do is get to the desert and there's a giant hole in the wall we can walk right through. This will be easy!" Renji said with a grin.

Ichigo walked past Renji and smacked him in the back of the head.

"What was that for?" he yelled.

"Never say it'll be easy." Ichigo warned and he started out, the others following him close behind.

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**A/N: See? I told you it was a bit different and yet it's scary how many things matched up between my writing and the anime I hadn't even seen yet. Hope you enjoyed. See you briefly tomorrow.**


	3. An Unexpected Ally

**A/N: This chapter is the shortest of them all, but it's necessary to set up the scene change. I probably could have condensed this chapter and the next, but doing it this way makes it more dramatic.**

**December 22, 3 days till Christmas  
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**Disclaimer: You know the drill.

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**An Unexpected Ally**

Ichigo tried not to remember the details that brought them to this sad state, but there's no denying it. That didn't matter though; he had to figure out how to save Rukia and all of his friends.

"Stupid Renji," Ichigo cursed under his breath, "this is what you get for saying it will be easy!"

He surveyed the scene hopelessly again with growing dismay.

"What do I do!" he cried out in his mind and was quite surprised when he got an answer.

"You can't do it without my help." Said the voice.

Before Ichigo could respond blackness began to grow at the edge of his vision and he began to slip into what he thought was unconsciousness. But this darkness was far more sinister, and through the endless black void appeared an ivory figure. He stood there motionless, then he looked up and said…

"Good to see you… King."

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**A/N: Now things start to get interesting. See you tomorrow.**


	4. Ulterior Motives

**A/N: Here's where things start to get interesting.**

**December 23, 2 days till Christmas  
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**Disclaimer: Do I even need one of these on every chapter?

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**Ulterior Motives**

"Hichigo! What do you want?"

"It's not what I want with you; it's what you want with me." He replied cryptically.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo questioned impatiently.

"You asked for a solution and so here I am." he announced, gesturing with his hands for emphasis.

"What makes you think I…"

"How do you think you beat Ulquiorra?" Hichigo cut in. "I helped you." He said folding his arms across his chest. "Without my help you would have been killed in your first true battle."

Ichigo thought back to when his mask had protected him in his battle with Renji in the Soul Society. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you nearly killed Uryuu!" Ichigo shouted.

"Listen…" Hichigo said, stretching his hand out in a friendly manner. "It has never been my intention to hurt you, your friends, or your precious Rukia." At this Ichigo smacked his hand away. "However," he continued. "When you fail it's my job to fulfill your goals, even if that means removing certain… obstacles." He finished carefully.

Ichigo stared, scrutinizing his inner hollow and grudgingly coming to the conclusion that he had no other choice, but to trust him.

"Why should I believe you?" he asked, still indignant.

Hichigo stared off before replying. "Awhile back, when you first arrived in Hueco Mundo…" he began, still staring off. "Rukia said she wasn't here just to be protected by you."

"That may be so…" he looked back at Ichigo now, "but we're always here to protect her."

"…Ok." Ichigo said finally after a moment of silence. He flung Zangetsu at Hichigo so that it stuck in the ground in front of him.

"I don't know what you did last time, but It worked." He stated flatly. "Just don't overdo it again; save your wrath for the hollows, make sure everyone is safe, and… Don't. Harm. Rukia."

Hichigo reached for the hilt of Zangetsu which began to turn white in his grip. "whatever you say, King." He replied with a smirk and walked off spinning Zangetsu by the chain.

00000

Ichigo's eyes opened again, an eerie yellow pupil shining out of a vast pool of darkness.

"Play time!"

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**A/N: A different take on his inner hollow and yes I called him "Hichigo" because it's the most straight forward title for him. By now I'm assuming you've already watched the battle with Ulquiorra, otherwise the next part will be really confusing and a huge spoiler. Needless to say all the action happens in chapter 5. See you tomorrow for the closer.**


	5. The Beast Unleashed

**A/N: So this is the final chapter. After all this time it all comes down to this. I'm gonna warn you now that I went a little power mad on this one. Half the stuff he does probably isn't even possible in the anime, but it is pretty badass. I also want to say that I didn't get Nel quite right. I have her speaking pretty normally and not like she does when she's a kid, although I did get one of her lines right. So here comes the wrap up. Enjoy.**

**December 24, 1 day till Christmas**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even gonna say it.

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**The Beast Unleashed**

Hichigo wasted no time in getting prepped for battle. Before the hollows could comprehend it, the boy they had pinned down transformed into a beast more fearsome and formidable then all of them combined. By the time they had noticed, a ball of red and black energy had formed between the horns of his mask and grown into a giant orb of destruction.

Without any effort, this fearsome hollow flung of the adjuchas who foolishly leapt at him once more in an attempt to re-pin him.

Hichigo was unconcerned; he had his eyes firmly locked on the gigantic hollow that held Rukia. He swung his neck around in a wide arc, incinerating his attackers with the pent-up cero, before taking a firm stance and firing at that giant bastard.

Not a moment after Rukia's captor looked over to see the commotion was his head blown off his body. The blast had simply erased the head and entire left side of the once imposing monster, as well as any other hollow that had stood in its path. With that one attack, the scene had been changed dramatically. There was a giant burnt gouge in the sand and the entire area had been bathed in blood. All that remained of the hollow that had gripped Rukia were its feet and a small fragment of the torso which was connected to the right arm where she was held.

What was left of the hollow began to fizzle away into nothingness, leaving Rukia to plummet towards the sand where Hichigo was already in place to catch her.

As the Vasto Lorde looked on, Hichigo had gone, reappeared, taken hold of Zangetsu and vanished once more. The enraged leader let out a howl, signaling all his units to attack.

Hichigo knew he didn't have long before they went after his defenseless allies. Appearing behind the pile of rubble where Nel was hidden he thrust his sword into the ground and gently lay down Rukia.

"Itsygo?" Nel asked timidly.

He pointed at Rukia as a sign for her to stay put and look after her. Nel understood and she crawled over to where Rukia lay.

Turning around, our hero took up his sword once more, swung it over his head and brought it back down to his side, a live getsuga tensho on the blade. He performed a sonido which brought him over to where Orihime and Uryuu had collapsed and was instantly spotted by the hollow lackeys. They charged forward in a pathetic attempt to capture him.

Hichigo wasn't around for a battle yet. He flung Zangetsu at the false sky with all his might, picked up Uryuu and Orihime and sonidoed back to the pile of rubble.

The charging hollows collided in the spot where Hichigo had been a moment ago, just in time for Zangetsu to impact and the resulting explosion to bring the ceiling down on top of them.

Hichigo appeared behind the rubble and set down Ichigo's friends.

The quick movement and explosions had been enough to pull Orihime out of unconsciousness and now she sat up slowly and took in the scene before her.

Her eyes shot wide open when they fell upon her friend. His clothes were torn and bloody, and his face was once again covered by that ferocious mask.

"Ichigo! No… not again… why are you…?"

"Orihime!" Nel cut in before Orihime could start whining. "It's okay. Itsygo's doing this to protect us, but you have to heal everyone."

"But… But I… He…" Orihime stammered.

"Itsygo's doing this for us, now you have to do this for him!" Nel said firmly.

"You're right." Orihime replied after a moment and set up a barrier to begin work on Rukia and Uryuu's injuries.

Meanwhile Hichigo had already left and come back during their conversation, this time with Chad slung over his shoulders in a fireman's hold. In any other circumstance Ichigo's giant-like friend would have been impossible to carry, but his hollowfied form gave him at least three times his normal strength.

One more minute and Hichigo had brought back Renji as well and now all of Ichigo's friends were safely hidden amongst the rubble.

The hollows were hopelessly lost for their location due to Hichigo's speed-of-light movements and the fact that their spiritual pressure was far too weak to sense at the moment. It also didn't hurt that Hichigo had killed the ones who saw him on the way, for fun.

With all of them taken care of Hichigo could finally cut loose and enjoy himself, but first things first: he needed his sword back.

His burning yellow eyes scanned the desert for a moment before falling upon what he was looking for. He beheld an adjuchas with Zangetsu in hand running towards the Vasto Lorde, who still wasn't quite mad enough to do anything for himself.

A growl escaped Hichigo's throat. He made a fist with his right hand and a jet-black cero began to grow in his clutch.

Orihime looked up from her healing and watched as he slowly and casually walk towards the hollow. He continued to walk until he disappeared from her view and then he reappeared some ways ahead of where he had been. He kept walking, and then a second later vanished and reappeared again, each time bringing him closer to his target. He continued in this eerie manner until he was directly behind his victim.

Before he was even noticed, he raised his right arm and gave a mighty punch that broke through the adjuchas's chest. He then grabbed the hollow's head and pulled downward. The pent-up cero then exploded tearing right through the mask of the hollow that held Zangetsu and pulsed straight into the sky to draw the attention of all the others.

No sooner had Hichigo picked up his sword than he was surrounded by a hundred of the lesser hollows.

He didn't even pretend to care as he made four quick slashes, sending a black getsuga off in every direction. When the sand settled he was the only one left.

The Vasto Lorde roared in fury and sent the twenty adjuchas he had with him to their doom. Hichigo flung Zangetsu at one of them where it lodged in his gut, and then dodged to the side to avoid one that had tried to sneak up behind him. He spun around and bit through the hollow's head. As its lifeless corpse dissipated he drew a cero in each hand and punched through two more of his attackers. Hichigo continued his cero infused punches into the stomach of a particularly large adjuchas before clapping his hands together and detonating them both in a blast that killed the adjuchas he had been attacking and five others around him.

As Hichigo continued to slaughter hollows, Rukia was coming to.

"W…what happened? Where's Ichigo?" She asked, sitting up too quickly and getting dizzy.

"It's okay. He's fighting to protect us." Orihime answered.

"Ichigo is... Or his hollow is?" Rukia questioned and Orihime grimaced.

Rukia left Orihime to her healing and went outside the safety of the ruined building to watch the battle.

Back on the battlefield Hichigo was bored with fighting weaklings. The remaining eleven adjuchas tried to overpower him by charging all at once; in the middle of the pack was the hollow that was impaled with Zangetsu. Hichigo took one step forward and before they realized it he was standing in their midst, clutching Zangetsu by the hilt.

"Getsuga tensho." His evil voice whispered and everything before him was consumed by a wave of what seemed to be black fire.

Hichigo stepped forth from the black energy and taunted the Vasto Lorde, his sword resting on one shoulder. The Vasto Lorde was now fully enraged; he drew his sword and rocketed forward in a mass of energy.

Hichigo took him head on without flinching. Their swords met with a resounding clang and after exchanging a few blows he grabbed the Vasto Lorde's sword in one hand and sliced him across the front. After that the Vasto Lorde retreated a ways and fired a cero from his hand.

The black streak of energy shot towards Hichigo who merely bowed his head and caught it between his horn where it pulsated, turned red, and grew in power.

"I changed my mind." Hichigo spoke in his wicked voice. You aren't worth fighting either. I'll wrap this up quickly."

He dragged his hand along the length of his sword which began to glow black with power. In a split second he was in front of the Vasto Lorde and in a lightning-fast flurry he slashed him a hundred times. Before the powerful hollow could recover Hichigo vanished and when he reappeared there was a large span of desert between the two of them.

Hichigo raised his arm and swung in a twisted motion as he yelled: "Getsuga tensho!"

While the attack spiraled forward he tipped his head and announced: "Cero."

As Rukia watched she saw a gigantic red cero wrapped in a corkscrewing black getsuga surge towards the stunned hollow and tear through him. When the smoke cleared away nothing remained, but a huge crater.

Hichigo performed a sonido and came to stand in front of Rukia. He raised his sword, but Rukia held her ground. He quickly spun the sword around in his hand and smacked the butt of the hilt against the top of his mask. A crack ran the length of his mask and it at last shattered and fell away leaving a stunned Ichigo who was surprised to find that Rukia had already tackled him and pressed her lips against his.

His expression softened and he returned her embrace before they broke apart and he looked down at her now blushing form.

"I'm so glad you're okay Rukia." He said with a smile.

"Idiot. That's my line." She replied, now meeting his gaze. "What were you thinking?" She exclaimed, lightly pounding her fists against his chest. "Using that kind of power so soon could have killed you!" Now her pounding stopped and she lightly sobbed against him. "You could have died…"

"It was worth the risk to save you." He answered tilting her head upwards by putting his hand under her chin. "I couldn't bear to live without the girl I love." He said looking into her eyes.

"Risking everything just to save me is foolish… and that's just how you've been since they day I met you." She said softly as her sobbing subsided into hiccups.

"That's because I love you Rukia."

"I love you too Ichigo."

With that he hugged her and lifted her up so they could kiss once more.

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**A/N: And so it's done at last. When I first wrote it the ending sucked entirely, but when I typed it up I made some tweaks and I don't think this is half bad. At the very least it's not like the old one which was just badly written romance that got the story to end. In any case I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time. **


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